Story
Lives of the Saints and Martyrs in the Coptic Orthodox Church
The Trusted Priest, Shams al-Ri'asa Abu al-Barakat ibn Kabar, Priest
In English: Abo Al-Barakat.
He was a man of the thirteenth century. He was the trusted elder, Shams al-Ri'asa Abu al-Barakat ibn Kabar. He served as secretary to Sultan Baybars al-Duwaydar (the Sultan al-Bunduqdari), to whom he was devoted and whom he assisted in composing a precious book that remains in manuscript form even though it is well known in Europe, namely "Zubdat al-Fikr fi Tarikh al-Hijra" (The Cream of Thought on the History of the Hegira).
He left the service of the Sultan and was ordained a priest of the renowned Church of the Virgin known as al-Mu'allaqa (the Hanging Church). There he devoted himself to the spiritual care of the people, and he also produced a body of writings that reveal him to be a distinguished scholar, an accomplished theologian, and an ecclesiastical historian. He reposed on the 15th of Bashans, 1040 A.M. (1323 A.D.).
Secretary to the Sultan al-Bunduqdari
The trusted elder Shams al-Ri'asa, son of the elder al-Akmal, was secretary to the Sultan al-Bunduqdari and lived in the days of King al-Muzaffar during the era of the Bahri Mamluks. He served as the king's secretary even while the latter was still only an emir, and he was devoted to him. He assisted him in composing a precious book that remains in manuscript and is well known in Europe, the book "Zubdat al-Fikra fi Tarikh al-Hijra." Some suppose that he was also a physician, given the precision concerning drugs and perfumes evident in his writings.
Priest of the Hanging Church
His services to the world pale before his spiritual labors, for he soon left his post in the king's chancery to attain the honor of the priesthood and became a priest of the famous Church of the Virgin at al-Mu'allaqa, known as the priest Ibn Kabar.
His Writings
He was a distinguished scholar, an accomplished theologian, and an ecclesiastical historian, deeply versed in church history, the rites, and the other religious sciences. His priestly ministry was not confined to the spiritual services he rendered to the children who lived under his care; it extended to embrace the generations that came after him, for he composed a considerable number of books that are still regarded as fundamental references for researchers.
The first thing he wrote was a book on the Myron (Holy Chrism), in which he described with the utmost precision the materials of which it is composed and the manner of its preparation.
The learned historian and great theologian Shams al-Ri'asa Abu al-Barakat composed the greatest theological encyclopedia of the Church, known as "Misbah al-Zulma fi Idah al-Khidma" (The Lamp of Darkness for the Clarification of the Service). This great volume contains the body of the canons of the Church and the councils, the accounts of the apostles and disciples, and rules that are doctrinal, liturgical, historical, and literary; it is reckoned among the most important and largest of religious encyclopedias.
He also composed homilies to be recited in the churches on feasts and seasons.
He wrote the book "Jala' al-'Uqul fi 'Ilm al-Usul" (The Enlightenment of Minds in the Science of Principles), also titled "Kahf al-Asrar al-Khafiyya fi Asbab al-Masihiyya" (The Cave of Hidden Mysteries on the Grounds of Christianity). This book comprises eighteen chapters on the oneness of God, the Trinity of His hypostases, and the incarnation of His divine Son.
He also wrote the book "Al-Bayan al-Azhar fi al-Radd 'ala man Yaqul bi al-Qada' wa al-Qadar" (The Clearest Exposition in Refutation of Those Who Hold to Fate and Predestination), as well as a book in refutation of the Muslims and the Jews.
Ibn Kabar did not content himself with writing on spiritual and literary subjects alone; he also turned his attention to the Coptic language, for he was a scholar of Coptic and produced in it a well-known lexicon called "Al-Sullam al-Kabir" (The Great Ladder).
Ibn Kabar compiled a list of the names of Egyptian towns and villages, and he also prepared a special index of all the Hebrew words that the Copts had borrowed from the books of the Old Testament.
Among His Works
1. A book on the Myron, in which he described the materials of which it is composed and the manner of its preparation.
2. "Jala' al-'Uqul fi 'Ilm al-Usul," titled "Kashf al-Asrar al-Khafiyya fi Asbab al-Masihiyya," comprising 18 chapters on the oneness of God, the Trinity of His hypostases, and the divine incarnation (one copy is held in the Vatican Library and another in Damascus).
3. "Misbah al-Zulma wa Idah al-Khidma," an ecclesiastical theological encyclopedia. Copies of it are held in the Vatican Library, the Berlin Library, and the National Library in Paris.
4. "Al-Bayan al-Azhar fi al-Radd 'ala man Yaqul bi al-Qada' wa al-Qadar."
5. The Homilies, devoted to the feasts and seasons.
6. "Al-Sullam al-Kabir": a dictionary of the Coptic language, printed in Rome in 1643 A.D. and published in Coptic, Latin, and Arabic; it is regarded as one of the most precious of books in Coptic.
It should be noted, however, that Ibn Kabar has some grave errors on certain points, among them what runs contrary to the mystery of confession and other matters. Yet in his own day he offered something of light amid dark ages.
The biography from another source:
He was the trusted elder Shams al-Riyasa Abu al-Barakat the Confessor, known as Ibn Kabar, priest of al-Mu'allaqa. This Coptic philosopher and physician, who excelled in the knowledge of medicines, perfumes, drugs, and poisons, received his early education in the Coptic schools (kuttabs). After acquiring a measure of learning there, he entered the ranks of the state's secretaries until he rose to the rank of secretary to the emir. He then applied himself to the study of books of medicine in the various civil, religious, and linguistic sciences, and he studied the ancient ecclesiastical books exhaustively. He was aided in this by his closeness to the patriarchs of his time, especially Pope John VIII, the eightieth patriarch, and thus he completed his scholarly and religious formation.
When the Sultan al-Ashraf Khalil, son of King al-Mansur Qalawun, ordered that Christians no longer take part in the administration of the state, and the rulers persecuted them, Abu al-Barakat withdrew from service and devoted himself to scholarly, theological, and historical studies.
In the year 1200, the notables of the people agreed unanimously upon choosing him as a priest, and he was ordained priest over the Church of al-Mu'allaqa, which was at that time the patriarchal cathedral. He had by then passed the age of thirty, and after his ordination as priest he delivered his first church homily at the first assembly of Pope John VIII at the Monastery of Shuwan.
The age of Ibn Kabar was an age of studies, of learning, and of scholars, yet he stood at its summit, for he was uniquely possessed of an extraordinary capacity for research and for penetrating deeply into the nature of things. He made good the deficiencies that his predecessors and contemporaries had left in many matters. Nor did he confine his writing to the Coptic and Arabic languages alone; he also composed in ancient Greek, Hebrew, and Syriac, and he was foremost in the knowledge of the ordering of the church rites and the religious doctrines. Alongside this brilliance he was pious, a reformer, and a guardian of the sound Orthodox beliefs of the Coptic Church.
His Works
The trusted elder Shams al-Ri'asa Abu al-Barakat ibn Kabar composed encyclopedias in the ecclesiastical sciences, the Coptic language, and Christian religious philosophy, so that they later became references for the clergy and for scholars. His last work of authorship was in the year 1320 A.D.
Among his most famous works:
1. "Kitab Misbah al-Zulma li-Idah al-Khidma" (The Lamp of Darkness for the Clarification of the Service), an ecclesiastical encyclopedia containing 24 chapters, various appendices, and several sections on the Christian doctrines and the accounts of the apostles.
2. A book of homilies, addresses, epistles, and correspondences, in Arabic, containing 51 subjects, 23 of which were printed in "Kitab al-Jawhara al-Nafisa fi Khutab al-Kanisa" (The Precious Jewel on the Homilies of the Church).
3. A lexicon of the Coptic language known as "Al-Sullam al-Kabir" (The Great Ladder), arranged in ten sections containing 32 chapters, in which he gathered the established Coptic terms and rendered each of them into correct Arabic.
4. "Jala' al-'Uqul fi 'Ilm al-Usul," titled "Kashf al-Asrar al-Khafiyya fi Asbab al-Masihiyya," comprising 18 chapters on the Christian beliefs: the oneness of God, the Trinity of His hypostases, the incarnation of the Son, and so on.
5. Refutations of the Jews and the Muslims.
6. "Risalat al-Bayan al-Azhar fi al-Radd 'ala man Yaqul bi al-Qada' wa al-Qadar." Beyond these profound books at the core of the Christian religion, we find him composing on Islamic history as well, in the book "Zubdat al-Mufakkira fi Tarikh al-Hijra," and his writings were attested to by Muslim historians such as al-Maqrizi and Abu al-Mahasin ibn Taghri Birdi.
His Repose
When a great calamity befell the Christians at the end of his life, Ibn Kabar went into hiding and spent the remainder of his days in complete seclusion in his house. He arranged his own funeral rite for himself when he sensed his great weakness and the nearness of the end of his appointed time. He reposed in peace on the 10th of May, 1234, during the reign of Pope John IX, and was most probably buried in the Hanging Church (al-Mu'allaqa)